Method and apparatus for descaling a rod



March 15, 1960 J. J. SPAN METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DESCALING A ROD 3Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 15, 1956 I/I/ I Ill/III INVENTOR. John J. SpanFig.5

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March 15, 1960 J. J. SPAN 2,928,164

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DESCALING A ROD Filed Feb. 15, 1956 3 Sheetssheet 2 I) 2 1* Z I g F I g. 2 e L I 26 I6 m 4444 I l2 l E//////////////mm\\\\ I8 2834 L R) .1.

I I l INVENTOR.

John J. Span HIS ATTORNEY$ March 15, 1960 J. J. SPAN 2,928,164

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DESCALING A ROD Filed Feb. 15, 1956 sSheets-Sheet s F i g.

IN VEN TOR.

John .1 Span BY 1 1! HIS ATTORNEYS METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DESCALING AROD John J. Span, Donora, Pa.

Application February 15, 1956, Serial No. 565,670

6 Claims. (Cl. 29-81) This application is a continuation-in-part ofapplication No. 387,713, filed October 22, 1953, now abandoned.

This invention relates to descaling a rod and similar articles andparticularly to a method and apparatus which allow the rod to be drawninto wire and like products immediately after the descaling.

As present the process of descaling a rod and then drawing it to formwire, nails, and the like is a discontinuous one. A rod is firstdescaled by pulling it through a series of bends or through a picklingbath or through both of such steps usually in the order named. If therod is pickled, a'tirne-consuming and expensive step of drying the rodin an oven necessarily follows. In any event, the descaled rod iscollected as on a take-up drum, eventually carried to another station,and then again processed by being advanced through a lubricant and thenthrough a drawing die. The descaling and drawing operations have notheretofore been coupled to provide a continuous process because aninherent tension is imparted to the rod by pulling it through thedescribed descaling steps, while on the contrary it is highly desirablethat the rod advance loosely and freely to a drawing die. In its tautstate the tensioned rod collects little or no lubricant and thereforequickly ruins a drawing die. In some cases the tensioned rod merely cutsan oversized hole in a lubricant such as grease and thereafter quicklybecomes dry, burning out the die.

In addition to the foregoing faults, the prior technique of descalingand drawing a rod is subject to other objections. Passing the rodthrough a series of bends, sometimes four or five, tends to introducefatigue failure and breakage of the rod when passing through the die,particularly at the welds where one rod is joined to a succeeding one,all of which results in loss of product and production time.

The present invention eliminates the described faults by passing the rodthrough a single loop under such conditions that the rod aids indescaling itself and leaves the loop free of tension. For example, inone form the rod passes through a peripheral groove of a wheel. Thesides of the groove are adapted to urge the rod toward the center of thegroove and radially inwardly whereby a part of the rod being received inthe groove rubs against a part previously received to remove scale. Byreason of this frictional contact the parts also remain in contactthroughout a portion of the groove so that the previously received partleaves the groove in a whipping action free of longitudinal tension.

The accompanying drawings illustrate a presently preferred embodimentwherein:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the present descaling apparatus inconjunction with lubricating and drawing means; a

Figures 2 and 3,, are plan and side elevations, respectively, of anenlarged view of the descaling apparatus of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a view of a striking arm taken on the plane of theline-IV-IV of Figure 1;

Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 4 showing another position of thestriking arm;

Figure 6 is an enlarged side view of a disc shown in previous figures(with parts removed for clarity);

Figure 7 is a plan view of the disc showing the incoming rod in anoverriding position on the outgoing rod;

Figure 8 is a front elevation view of the disc;

Figure 9 is a view of the rod and disc taken on the plane of line IX-IXof Figure 6;

Figure l0 is a view of the rod and disc taken on the plane of line X-Xof Figure 6; and j Figure 11 is a view of the rod and disc taken on theplane of line XI-XI of Figure 6.

Referring to the drawings, the descaling apparatus shown generally at 10may be directly used with a wire drawingmachine 11 which includes a box12 containing a lubricant, a conventional drawing die 13, and a powerdriven block 14 around which the wire is wound after the first draft,Additional drafts by other dies may follow in accordance with standardpractice.

The descaling apparatus includes a standard 15 having a pinion gear .16.This gear may be stationary, but in the preferred embodiment it ismounted for idle rotation. A disc 17 fixed to a side of the gear 16 hasa peripheral groove 18, the sides of which form a V or similar shapedtransverse cross section. Preferably, a weight 19 is fixed on the sideof the disc 17 opposite to the side to which gear 16 is affixed. Theweight is spaced from the axis of rotation to provide a flywheel effect.On one side of the disc 17, a ledge 20. supports a die block 21 in whichan oversize die 22, oversized with respect to the. rod, is secured bythe set screw 23. An inverted U-shaped guide 24.and a roller 25pivotally carried by the bar 26 direct a rod R from the die 22 towardthe disc 17.

A second pinion gear 27 is also mounted for idle rotation on .thestandard 15 and engages the gear 1 6. A second ledge 28 integrallycarries or supports bearings 30 in which a shaft 29 is rotativelymounted. A stub arm 31 and a striking arm 32 are fixed to the shaft 29:.A pitman 33 eccentrically mounted on the face of the gear 27 pivotallyjoins thestub arm 31, while the striking arm 32 which taperslongitudinally carries out-turned flanges 3-4 between which a roller 35isjournalled for rotation.

In operation, the power driven block 14 pulls the rod R through thedescaling apparatus. The oversized die 22, guide 24, and roller 25 serveto direct the rod R to the groove 18 of the disc 17 with a minimum ofside movement and preferably introduce the rod onto the disctangentially at a point on the adjacent half of the disc to provide arelatively long contact of the rod with itself as hereafter described.As shown in Figure 2, preferably, the rod is not introducedperpendicular to the axis of disc 17, but rather at a slight angle suchthat the over-. riding effect of the incoming rod is accentuated. As therod passes through a loop defined by the groove, actually three distinctdescaling actions take place, namely, chipping, crushing, and abrading..During the single full loop bend to which the rod is subjected on thedisc 17, the scale onthe top of the rod with respect to its position inthe groove chips off as a result of the bend, while the scale onthebottom of the rod is crushed in the valley of the V or similar shapedgroove and eventually drops out as that portion of the rod leaves thegroove. At the same time, the scale on the sides of the rod becomesloosened. As a part of the rod being received in the groove rubs againsta part previously received, the scale on the contacting sides isremoved. The rod does not twist substantially in navigating the bend,therefore the side of the incomingrod which is scraped by the outgoingrod is not the same side of the outgoing rod which is doing thescraping. In other words, one side of the incoming rod is scraped by theopposite side of the outgoing rod. Simultaneously, the sides of thegroove and the slight pulling tension on the rod urge the rod toward thecenter of the groove and radially inwardly of the disc 17, thereby,wedging the rod together and introducing additional abrading action aswell. This action also descales the sides of the rods which frictionallyengage the sides of the groove. The incoming rod overrides the outgoingrod, as shown in Figures 6-9, to descale the top and bottom of the rod.Initially, the incoming rod rides on top of the outgoing rod (Figure 9to remove scale on the top and bottom of the rod until the position isreached where the incoming rod moves to the side of the outgoing rod(Figure 10) and eventually, the sides of the rods are abraded (Figure11). The bottom of theincoming rod will be abraded by the top of theoutgoingrod; however, since there is substantially no twist in the rodduring the bend, the top of .the outgoing rod, which is abraded, is theopposite side from thebottomof the incoming rod. Thus, all the majordescaling is done in this single full loop bend. g Y

A further unique feature of the present invention is that the parts ofthe rod which become so engaged. remain substantially locked infrictional engagement throughout a portion of the loop through which therod passes on the disc 17. This results in a delayed release of the rodfrom the groove. As shown in Figure 3, instead of leaving the disc 17 ina substantially tangential line 36, the rod is carried 'past thattangential line and leaves in the form of a rod 37. A flywheel effect asimparted by the weight 19, for example, has been found to aid a delayedrelease. However, it is apparent that the weight is not necessary togive this flywheel efiect. If the disc 17 were made of suffici'ent sizesuch that the moment of inertia was large, the disc would have the sametendency to drag and impart a delayed releaseto the outgoing rod 37rather than following. line 36. The. Wedging and interlocking tendenciesof the rods in the groove also contribute to this result. Thus, it isseen that the rod is discharged from the disc in relaxed condition, asshown at 37. a

It will now be apparent that the present invention provides a novelmethod and apparatus for descaling a rod and like articles andparticularly a new combination including drawing apparatus anddescaling. apparatus adapted to feed a rod directly to the former.

Since dust and very fine scale sometimes remain on the rod and tend tocollect in the lubricant, it is desirable to knock such extraneousmatter from the red as by the knocking arm 32. When the rod travelsthrough the groove 18,. the disc 17 rotates andgear 16 thereby rotatesgear 27. By means of the eccentricmounting on gear 27, the arm 32. isautomatically and. repeatedly'pivoted at its lower end through a zonewhich crosses, the path of the rod R. In this manner, the arm 32periodical.- ly strikes the rod during itsv movement to the lubricatingbox and die and removes any extraneous matter still adhering to the rod.The striking arm may be motivated in any desirable manner and need notnecessarily operate in any timed relationship with the descaler. Thestriking apparatus shown is merely a convenient and preferredembodiment.

One important result is that the rod is free of tension because of thedelayedrelease and can be directly ad vancedinto the drawing die 13.Another important result is that although the rod leaves the disc freeof longitudinal tension, it is released with a whipping or snap action.Accordingly, the rod enters the box 12 in a wave like form and actuallystirs and mixes the lubricant in the box. This insures completelubrication at al-ltimes since the rod never fails to collect somelubricant and carry it to, the die 13. The rod R. thus enters. the:dienot' only free of tension but well lubricatedby its own: action. Thewhipping, action also tends to force lubricants into the die along withthe rod. Additionally, the action of the groove 18 tends to iron out allkinks and bends in the rod and prevent its breakage at the' die;

When the driven block 14 is actuated to pull the rod, position 36(Figure 3) is momentarily assumed by the rod R. The tension on the rodat this time is not substantial and is only sufiicient to actuate thedisc 17 into rotary motion. However, it is apparent that the tension inrod R at the time of this pull will vary somewhat with regard to themass of disc 17.. Since the tension on the outgoing rod is very small,it may be stated that the rod is continuously removed from the disc 17in a substantially untensioned condition. In the past, the rods wereremoved from the descaling apparatus under substantial tension at timesapproaching the value necessary to move the rod through the reducingdie. The present invention allows the rod to be advanced to thediein acontinuous untensioned condition which has the advantages explainedabove.

The present apparatus may also be operated in the horizontal position.That is, the disc 17 could be mounted to rotate in a horizontal planerather than in a vertical plane. For this innovation, it would benecessary to reorient the disc 17 and units 2225. Additional feedrollers would be necessary to align the incoming rodwith the groove.

It is further apparent that the present invention encompasses initiallyfeeding the rod to the underside of the disc 17 and also removing itfrom the opposite underside position. This would amount to turning theillustrated apparatus upside down. As described above, the feedapparatus can be moved out of direct alignment with the groove ofdisc'17. Thus if the rod is fedat an angular tangential relationship tothe groove, the overriding of the incoming rod over the outgoing red (asexplained above) is insured and accentuated. Thus the" rod can be fed ata skew or slight angle to the axis ofrotation of disc 17. It isonlynecessary to offset the feed units a small amount to insure the overriderelationship; however, itis necessary that they be offset in a directionto accentuate the relationship. Thus it is apparent that the feed rodcould be moved in a direction to separate the rods in the groove ratherthan bring themtogetherjbut this isnot the intended purpose of theoffset. Normally, the incoming rod will override the outgoing rod'without any offset.

The size of rod which can be processed by this apparatus is dependentatleast in part upon the durability of the apparatus. A 4%" (insidegroove diameter) disc adequately descales an 0;207 /2" (No. 5)rod'. Thissize disc can handle a larger rod if of suificiently durableconstruction to withstand thestrains';

The shape of the groove is not limited except that it should haveopposite sides which force" the two rods therein toward each other.Preferably" the sides of the groove are sloping to insure this action.The bottom of the groove may be fiat or concave but should be of a widthless than the sum of the two smallest diameters of the rod beingprocessed to insure the overriding relationship described above. AV-shaped groove is preferred to insure a proper untensioned' delivery ofthe outgoing rod;

The die 22, guide 24, and roller 25 maybe. modified in form oreliminated by the substitution of any similar apparatus which willadequately feed thero'd in an un'- tensioned condition. The feeding ofthe incoming rod in untensioned condition allows it to override theoutgoing rod without seeking the bottom of the groove in the disc.However, when the incoming rod is subjected to a slight tension, due tothe pull by block 14, it becomes an out.- going portion of the rod andthen seeks the bottom of the groove prior to being overridden byanotherincoming portion of the rod. Thus, feeding the rod in untensibnedcondition and removingthe rod in substantially untensioned conditionassists in maintaining the overriding re lationship of the two portionsof the rod.

The mixing of the lubricant in the box 12' by the whipping action of therod' is described above. This mixing is even more accentuated when theapparatus is operated in a horizontal position since the rod then has a7 the result that lubricantis forced into the close proximity,

and at times, into the portion of the die'which actually draws the rod.

The present preferred embodiment of the invention produces a rod, freeof scale, which has not been'subjected to twisting or pulling strains.However, it is within the scope of this invention to twist the rod whileit is moving around the disc if scale is more easily removedin thismanner and the twisting strains are not objectionable.

While I have described a present preferred embodiment of my invention,it is understood that it may be otherwise 7 embodied within the scope ofthe following claims.

I claim: 7

1. A method of descaling a rod prior to drawing the rod, includingpassing the rod in a single closed looped path to descale the rod,simultaneously forcing the looped portion together circumferentially andradially inwardly of the loop so that a part of the rod joining the loopoverlaps, overrid'es and rubs against a part just completing the loopand the sides, top and bottom of the rod are descaled, imparting afly-wheel effect to the travel of the loop so that said parts remain incontact throughout an arc of the loop and the part just completing theloop at the time of the contact undergoes a delayed release from theloop and leaves the loop ina whipping action.

2. Apparatus for continuously descalinga rod and immediately thereafterdrawing it including in combination: a gear mounted for idle rotationhaving a disc in fixed relation thereto, said disc having a peripheralgroove the sides of which are adapted to urge a rod received therein.toward the center of the groove and radially inwardly, a

weight secured to the side of the disc andspaced from the axis ofrotation, a second rotatably mounted gear engaging the first, a shafthaving a striking arm fixed thereto, connecting means eccentricallymounted on the second.

gear and pivotally joined to the striking arm such that rotation of thesecond gear reciprocates the striking arm through a zone wherein thestriking arm engages the rod, and means to pull the rod in successionthrough the groove and the zone, such that a part of the rod-received inthe groove rubs against a part previously received to cause descaling ofthe rod and said previously receivedpart undergoes a delayed releasefrom the groove and leaves therefrom free of a longitudinal tensionsufficient to elongate the rod, and whereby the striking arm removesextraneous matter remaining on the rod.

3. A method of descaling a rod including passing'the rod in a singleclosed looped path, simultaneously forcing the beginning and end of thelooped rodtogether circumferentially of the loop such that saidbeginning and said end of the rod rub together, override and remain incontact with each other throughout an arc of the loop, removing the rodfrom said path free of suflicient tension to elongate the rod, andimparting a flywheel effect to the travel of the loop.

4. Apparatus for descaling a continuous rod prior to drawing the rod,including an undriven, freely rotatable disc mounted for rotation andhaving a peripheral groove in which is received a continuous single loopof said rod, the sides of the groove being adapted to urge a rodreceived thereintoward the center of thegroove' and radially inwardtoward the bottom of the groove, the smallest axial dimension of thebottom of the groove being less than twice the diameter of s aid rod,and feed means to 5 direct the rod into the groove in a direction skewto the axis of rotation of the disc such that part of the rod beingreceived in the groove overrides a part of the rod previously receivedin the groove and means to remove the rod from the groove.

5. A method of descaling a rod including continuously moving a rod in asingle closed looped path of greater than 360 and less than 720 around afreely rotatable sheave; feeding a portion of the rod into said pathsuch that it rubs, overlies and overrides a portion of the rod leavingthe path; and rotating the sheave by pulling a portion of the rod fromthe sheave with a force only sufficient to rotate the sheave; said rodleaving the sheave substantially free of tension sufficient to elongatethe rod.

6. A method of treating a continuous metal rod including passing the rodin a single-looped path, simultaneously forcing the beginning and end ofthe looped rod together circumferentially of the loop such that saidbeginning and said end of the rod rub together, override and remain incontact with each other throughout an arc of the loop, intermittentlypulling a portion of the rod from the loop, imparting a flywheel effectto the travel of the loop and simultaneously subjecting saidportion ofthe rod to a delayed release from the loop so that the rod leaves theloop in a wavelike motion, and moving the rod through a lubricant insaid wavelike motion to insure adequate lubrication of all areas of therod.

References Cited in the file of this patent Great Britain Mar. 8, 1938

